By Merlina Hernando-Malipot
To strengthen their support for priority programs of the Department of Education (DepEd), Education Secretary Leonor Briones on Tuesday convened employee associations nationwide in time for the celebration of Labor Day.
DepEd Sec. Leonor Briones
(MB PHOTO/FEDERICO CRUZ / MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO)
DepEd employee groups and associations from all over the country convened for the 1st DepEd Employee Associations (DEA) Congress at the Fontana Leisure Park in Clark, Pampanga. With the theme, “Sulo: Blazing the Paths for One DepEd,” the two-day Congress aims to provide an avenue for the DepEd management and employee associations to interact and collaborate in promoting employee welfare and development.
This, DepEd said, is consistent with the thrust of Briones of “active, consultative, and collaborative leadership.” Ultimately, the Congress aims to “gather policy and program recommendations on the identified priority areas as part of the ten-point agenda of DepEd, specifically on expanding employee welfare.”
Led by the Bureau of Human Resource and Organizational Development (BHROD), with the guidance of Undersecretary Alain Del Pascua and Assistant Secretary Revsee Escobedo, the pioneer conduct of the congress shall highlight the five key priority areas for employee welfare and development including Magna Carta benefits, financial literacy, working conditions, health and wellness programs, and livelihood/cooperatives.
Among the highlights of the event include the signing of the Collective Negotiation Agreement (CNA) by the DepEd management and the DepEd-NEU, and the symbolic covenant signing of support.
The groups in attendance include the Association of DepEd Directors (ADD); Association of ESSD Chiefs of the Philippines (AECP); Baguio Teachers’ Camp Employees Association (BTCEA); DepEd Dentists Association (DEDA); DepEd Medical Society (DEMS); DepEd National Association of Employees in the Administrative Service (NASEAS); DepEd National Employees’ Union (DepEd-NEU); DepEd National Nurses Association (DENNA); DepEd National Supply Officers Association (DENSOA); DepEd Nutritionists-Dieticians’ Association (DENDA); DepEd Partnership of Employees and Non-Teaching Staff (DepEd PENS); Educational Facilities Planners Council of the Philippines, Inc. (EFaPCOPi); National Association of Public Secondary School Heads, Inc. (NAPSSHI); and Philippine Association of Schools Superintendents (PASS).
Other groups that were in attendance include the Philippine Elementary School Principals Association (PESPA); Public Schools District Supervisors Association (PSDSA); School Governance and Operations Division Chiefs Association of the Philippines (SGODCAP); Teachers’ Dignity Coalition (TDC-DepEd employees); DepEd Cooperatives (Coops); National Organization of Professional Teachers, Inc. (NOPTI); National Association of DepEd Accountants, Inc. (NADEAI); Information Technology Officers Association of the Philippines (ITO AsPH); Regional Teachers’ Associations; Philippine Public School Teachers Association (PPSTA); and PEACE – Association of CES Officials.
The Alliance of Concerned Teachers (ACT) Union – NCR; Legal Officers and Attorneys of DepEd (LOAD); Philippine Association of Technical Assistance Providers (PATAP); and National Association of Public Secondary Schools of the Philippines, Inc. (NAPSSPHIL) also attended the congress.